Container for stacked articles



Jan. 17, 1933. I w TTS 1,894,664

CONTAINER FOR STACKED ARTICLES Filed Aug. 12, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l FIG'i I- TORNEYS.

Jan. 17, 1933. G. w. BUTTS CONTAINER FOR STACKED ARTICLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 12, 1931 A TTORNEYS.

Jan. 17, 1933. G; w. BUTTS CONTAINER FOR STACKED ARTICLES Filed Aug. 12, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG- E FIG'iZY FIG'iK Patented Jan. 17, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE W. BUTTS, F WYNNEWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PENNSYLVANIA. .RAILBQAD COMPANY, .15. CORPORATION .OF PENNSYLVANIA CONTAINER FOR 'STACKED ARTICLES Application filed. August 12, 1931. Serial No. 556,550.

This :invention ;relates to containers for the transportation .of stacked :articles, and more particularly :to shipping containers designed forLu-se ronirailroadcars, motor trucks,

' or trailers, andzadapted to carry face bricks or the like in'stackswhich aremaintained intact-during the loading and unloading of the containers.

Heretoforeit :has been proposed, for the transportation of bricks :or the like, to employ :a .bottomless container 'in combination with a temporary floor tmember, serving as a lading platform "for the stacked contents, the container having thereon apparatus for transferring the load on the floor member .to the wallsof the container or releasing the load therefrom; and "the container being made :to dimensions, as to cross sectional area, *such that e -multiple of containers arranged side by side may be conveniently accommodated on the floor of a freight car, and to a height such that the top of the'container, when loaded on a freight car, will be at the maximum permissible distance from the running rails.

" An 'eXample-of such acontainer is described in my pending application for S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 529,532, filed April 11, 1931.

The use of a container of this character enables bricks to be loaded in stacks atfthe place where they are manufactured and to the stacks remaining intact during the operations of loading and unloading, as well as during transit, and with consequent elimination of material handlingat any point in 7 the route. HoWever, there may be occasions f0 where facilities are not available, either at the manufacturing plant or at the building site, for the hoisting and shifting of a brick container of such weight, and there mayalso be occasions where such containers exceed in height the clearance at bridges or other superstructures. 7

Accordingly the object of the present invention is to provide a serieso f containers of f relatively small height in comparison to the above-mentionedtypesof railroad-containers,

which are adapted to be nested together :by superimposing one container above another in suchmanner that the lotof superimposed containers may be handled as a complete package, where the facilities are available for hoisting such a load, or separated and handled as individual units where such 'tfao ilities are not available. Furthermore, the individual containers are preferably :made to a size-such that their weight comes .within the capacity of elevators for lifts used in building operations, and hence the stack contents'mayibe-carried intact. astill furtheridistangle :towards the point where they are to be use :Othervobjects and advantages characterizing my invention will become more fully apparentfromthedescriptionhereinafter-ofone embodiment or example thereof, having reference to "the accompanying drawings. Of th'eadrawings:

Fig. Irep'resents a side elevationof ap'ackage of superimposed containers of my :inventi'on,:assembled for hauling by freight car an motor truck.

iFig. II represents an enlarged eiid :elevation of thesame, with a portion removed at thezcenter.

:Fig. I111 represents a top plan viewof an individual container.

Fig. IV represents a side elevation of a brick stack and its 'lading platform adapted for loading in a container as shown :in Figs. Iand Hgand,

Fig'V represents an end elevation of the same.

The individual containers shown in the drawingsand selected as one exampleof the practice of this invention-are designatedatl, there being six such containers nested one above the other to form a complete package for the transportation of stacked articles by freight car, motor truck, or the like. Preferab'lyeach container 1 is made to such dimensions, as to the area of the base portion, that when arranged side by side with other similar containers on the floor ofa freight car, the lot of containers substantially occupies the complete floor space of the car. Each individual container 1 is made to the same size and shape and comprises a frame, including a top or roof 2, side walls 3 and end walls 4, the end walls comprising in the present example castings with corner legs 5 formed integrally therewith. The legs 5 extend downward beneath the bottom edges of the end wall castings 4, as well as beneath the bottom edges of opposite side walls. Each container 1 is bottomless.

The legs 5 are offset from the corners of the end wall castings 4 so that their lower ends 6 fit over the top corners 7 of another similar container. Near the top corners 7, ledges or shoulders 8 are provided upon which the legs 5 of another container are adapted to rest. The area defined at the inside of the lower ends of the legs 5 is substantially equal to the outside dimensions of the top portion of the container. Thus when a. lot of containers is assembled by superimposing one container upon another, each container will fit over the top corners 7 of the next lower container and interlock therewith and the complete assemblage will form a substantially rigid package adapted for transportation as a unit.

The end wall castings 4 extend around the corners of the frame and merge into lifting hooks 9 designed to be engaged by rings 10 on the ends of cables 11 suspended from suitable hoisting apparatus. The containers shown in the drawings are adapted for the carrying of stacks of bricks assembled as shown in Figs. IV and V. The bricks 12 are arranged in rows upon a lading platform 13, which serves as a temporary floor member for the container. Extending across the bottom of the lading platform 13 and fastened thereto there are load carrying beams 14, 14a, the ends 15 of which are adapted to project beyond the end walls 4 of the container in which the stack is to be mounted. Near their ends 15 the load carrying beams 14 are cut away as shown at 16 to permit their engagement with links 17 which are pivotally mounted at opposite end walls 4 of the container. The links 17 are affixed to an operating shaft 18 rotatably mounted in bearings 19 cast integral with the side walls 4.

Each shaft 18 is bent over at one end near a corner of the container to afford an operating handle 20 as a convenient means for swinging the links 17 into and out of engagement with the ends 15 of the load carrying beams 14. To protect the operating handles 20, as well as the links 17, against injury from impact during handling, the end wall castings 4 preferably include vertical ribs 21 which project considerably beyond the bearings 19 within which the operating shafts 18 are rotatably mounted.

The load carrying beams 14a associated with the superimposed containers differ from the beams 14 of the lowermost container in that they are of less thickness and are not cut away at their ends. The bottom surfaces 22 of the load carrying beams 14 are preferably on a. level with the bottom corners 6 of the legs 5 so that when the container is lowered to the ground, the load on the lading platform 13 will be taken off the links 17 whereby the links may be swung outwardly and around the beam ends 15 to release the contents. With the containers having the load carrying beams 14a of less thickness, it is contemplated that before lowering at a place where the contents are to be discharged, planks of suitable thickness will be placed upon the ground beneath the beams 14a, so that as the container approaches the ground the load on its lading platform 13 will rest upon the planks before the legs 5 touch the ground. Accordingly, the links 17 may then be. released with. comparative ease. As shown clearly in Fig. II, when a lot of containers 1 are superposed one above another, the intermediate load carrying beams 14a rest upon the next lower container so that the load is removed from the links 17 and carried direct from each lading platform to the top of the next lower container.

At the center of each end wall casting 4, there is preferably formed integrally with the casting atrunnion 23. The trunnions 23 permit upsetting of a container prior to loading, so that the bricks may, if desired, be stacked within the container with the top 2 serving as a temporary bottom. When the container is thus loaded, the lading platform 13 is applied from above to its base portion and affixed thereto by engagement of the links 17 with the beam ends 15. Thereafter the container is reversed by swinging it about the trunnions 23, and the lading platform 13 then serves as a temporary detachable floor member.

The operations involved in connection with atypical shipment of bricks are as follows: First, the bricks are arranged at the place of manufacture in stacks on individual lading platforms 13 as shown in Figs. IV and V. The brick stacks are then loaded into containers 1 by lowering the containers over the stacks from above and hooking the pivoted links 17 around the ends 15 of the load carrying beams 14 by manipulation of the operating handles 20. Or, if desirable, the container may be upset preparatory to loading and mounted in suitable bearings by means of its trunnions 23 whereupon the bricks may be stacked directly into the container with subsequent attachment of the lading platform 13 and reversal of the container by swinging it about its trunnions. Thereafter the containers 1 may be hoisted and shifted separately onto a motor truck and piled thereon in lots of, say, six in number. At a freight statt'on near the, place of shipment, each coniplete package may be hoisted from the truck and lowered onto a freight car platform by a single operation. Such a transfer may be effected'by the use of an additional set of rings 24 appliedto thehooks 9 of theuppermost container of a package, the rings 24 being attached to the cables 11 leading to the hoisting apparatus. After transferring the containers from motor truck to freight car and hauling the same to a freight station near their ultimate destination, a similar transfer may be made from freight car to motor truck.

hen the containers have been hauled to the place of destination, and assuming that their destination is a building site where there is available hoisting apparatus of relatively small capacity, the unloading of the containers may be performed by a series of operationsin which one container at a time is removed from the motor truck and placed on the ground. Thereafter it may be desirable to convey the containers individually by small trucks, or elevators, or lifts to various locations at the building site. Ultimately the containers are unloaded by releasing the links 17 from the ends 16 of the load carrying beams 14 and lifting the containers off the lading platforms 13.

From the above description. which reprc sents merely one example of the practice of my invention, it will be apparent that the use of individual containers of the character described permits flexibility in handling stacks of bricks, in that the method of shifting brick stacks, either singly in individual containers or collectively in lots of containers, may be varied to suit existing conditions with regard to the apparatus available at the points of loading or unloading, or at transfer points, and with regard to overhead clearance.

Furthermore, while there has been described herein a particular form of container suited to a particular service, it will be apparent that the construction of the container involves certain features of design not essential to the invention, but selected as a result of other considerations; and it is contemplated that changes may be made in the form of the containers, and that the containers may be adapted for the transportation of numerous articles other than bricks, all Without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in. the claims annexed hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or thelike, a releasable load carrying member disposed thercbeneath, and means on said container for engaging and supporting said load carrying member, said container having base and top portions so formed that when one such container is mounted above another the base portion of the upper container will nest upon the top portion of the lower container with the load of the upper container removed from said engaging and supporting means and carried direct to the lower container.

2. In combination, a bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like including side and end walls, a releasable load carrying member disposed therebeneath, and means on said container walls for engaging and supporting said load carrying member, said container having base and top portions so formed that when one such container is mounted above another the base portion of the upper container will nest upon the top portion of the lower container with the load of the upper container removed from said engaging and supporting means and carried direct to the lower container.

3. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having a frame including side and end walls, and corner posts extending beneath the bottom edges of opposite walls, and means on said frame for engaging and releasing a load carrying member disposed therebeneath, said corner posts being formed to fit over the corners of the top of another like container.

4. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having a frame including side and end walls, and legs extending beneath the bottom edges of opposite walls and terminating in bottom cor ers defining at the inside thereof an area substantially equal to the outside dimensions of the top portion of said frame, and means on said frame affording points of attachment for a load carrying member disposed across the base portion thereof.

5. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having a frame including side and end walls and corner legs offset to defineat the inside of their lowerends an area substantially equal to the outside dimensions of the top portion of said frame, and means on said frame affording points of attachment for a load carrying member disposed across the base portion thereof.

6. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having a frame including side and end wells, and legs extending beneath the bottom edges of opposite walls, said legs being formed at the bottom to fit over the corners of the top of another like container, and means on the outside of said opposite walls affording points of attachment for a load carrying member disposed across the base portion thereof and extending beyond said Walls.

7. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having a frame including side and end walls, and legs extending beneath the bottom edges of opposite Walls, said legs beingformed at the bottom to fit over the corners of the top of another like container, means on the outside of said opposite walls afiording points of attachment for aload carrying member disposed tha across the base portion thereof and extending beyond said walls, and lifting hooks at tached to said frame near the corners thereof.

8. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having means for engaging and releasing a load carrying member disposed therebeneath and having trunnions at opposite walls.

9. A bottomless container for transporting stacked articles or the like having means for engaging and releasing load carrying members disposed therebeneath, having trunnions at opposite walls, and having base and top portions so formed that the base portion of one such container is adapted to interlock with the top portion of another such container.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 10th day of August, 1931.

GEORGE W. BUTTS. 

